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2022, The New Normal There was a time when one mass shooting would shock the conscience of much of America. However, those times are long gone. America has grown accustomed to hearing news reports of mass shootings. Although the tragedy of these violent acts is never diminished, people in this co...

We are commonly asked at our offices if it's possible to reduce a felony conviction to a misdemeanor, and the answer is commonly yes. I say commonly because there are some limitations to the types of crimes that are eligible for such treatment. The two most important factors that determine if you...

The Stigma of Child Abuse Being accused of a violent or sexual offense can be very damaging for various sectors of your life, particularly if the sexual abuse crime you are implicated for involves a child. Recovering from being accused of molesting a child can be hard, even if the allegations are...

3 Types of Warrants in California If you suspect that you may have an outstanding warrant in California, we highly advise that you confirm whether your suspicions are true or not by proactively handling this issue as quickly as possible and avoid further problems with the court. Take Control of Y...

Character Evidence – CA Evidence Code 1101 EC The California Evidence Code sets out the rules of evidence for state courts. The rules of evidence, and evidentiary matters in general, are complicated, and you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to ensure that only admissible evidence is ...

Have You Ever Heard of ‘Nonconsensual Insemination'? Until recently the idea of inseminating a woman against their will with a different sperm than they expected was relatively unheard of. However, the 2022 Netflix documentary ‘Our Father' exposes this very act by a criminal fertility doctor Dona...

Tahl Waiver Despite what criminal charges an individual is facing, they have certain rights offered to them by the US constitution that need to be protected. However, in certain situations, a defendant may decide to waiver these rights before pleading guilty or no contest to a criminal offense. T...

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Under the Sixth Amendment, every criminal defendant has the right to an attorney and a fair trial. This means that the defendant has the right to hire a private defense attorney of their choosing, and if they lack the funds to hire one, a public defender will be ...

Harvey Waiver In some California cases, you may find that the accused is charged with more than one criminal offense. To avoid these charges, a defendant may choose to enter a plea bargain to plead guilty to the lesser charge so long as the prosecutor drops the other charge they are accused of. I...

💡 Key Takeaways Felony probation allows supervised community serving: Defendants can serve part or all of their sentence outside custody while reporting monthly to a probation officer and meeting court-mandated conditions. Common requirements include multiple ongoing obligations: T...

Expectations vs. Reality Most people associate first-time offenders with reduced sentences, lower fines, or being let off the hook entirely. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. In fact, a first-time offense can be the most stressful period of a person's life. When you don't know what to e...

After an Arrest, Will I Be Allowed to Remain Free? Getting arrested and accused of a crime is stressful, and scary. Suddenly, your freedom may be at risk, and depending on various factors including the seriousness of the charges, you could be taken into custody (also known as remanded) pending tr...

The Reasons Child Trafficking Happens Child trafficking is the transfer and transportation of kidnapped children for slavery, sexual exploitation, adoption, or forced labor. It can be related to the current ongoing slavery. Children are obtained as enslaved people to help in illegal activities su...

[ Data Source ] Is there a Correlation between Weather and Crime? Did you know that hot weather and crime tend to go hand in hand? After a vast number of studies on this topic, this conclusion has been reached in multiple countries, including the United States, England, and Australia. Heres how a...

When Is Harassment Considered a Crime? Consistency in harassment often leads to criminal offenses on the victims. These offenses are the worst in nature and may leave a permanent mark on the lives of the victim. These offenses that shift from harassment to criminal include: Sexual Harassment In t...

Appealing Criminal Conviction in California A criminal conviction carries a lot of consequences for you. Finding housing, a job, and even friends can be difficult if you have a criminal record. If you or your attorney believes you were unjustly convicted of a crime because of an unfair trial, the...

When a Crime is an Environmental Crime? Environmental crime is the violation of the environment through illegal activities involving wildlife, natural resources, and biodiversity. These activities are life-threatening to everyday life and to the generations to come. Most of these activities lead ...

Facing criminal charges is frightening enough, but if mental illness played a role in the incident, your situation can feel even more overwhelming. In California, defendants may have the option of using the insanity defense under what's known as the M'Naghten Rule. Pleading insanity in court is n...

False Confession in California A false confession is a crime in California. It is the admission of committing a crime that, in actual sense, you did not commit. Many of these false confessions lead to wrongful convictions, which are reversed by the DNA evidence. They consistently lead to errors i...

Common Crime on College Campuses Everyone needs to be assured of safety wherever they may be included on the college campus. However, attaining 100% safety is quite a challenge, especially in college, where we constantly see a variety of crimes being reported. College campuses with an increased n...

What are Marsden Motions? Marsden motions are legal documents prepared by the defendant and filed under the court. The defendant tries to seek the removal of the court-appointed attorney or people's public defender. The Marsden motion is the only way that a defendant can fire his court-appointed ...

Types of Check Frauds Fraud has increased around the globe contributing to the revenue losses in many organizations. Among the most vulnerable areas for loss in the business is the misappropriation of funds and billing schemes. Financial institutions are the most threatened businesses that are li...

An Indictment Highlights The Charges An indictment is an official document containing the charges that a defendant faces. It is a menu highlighting the charges that one is facing and the constitutional rights present for them. The rights follow due process, which are the legal procedures law enfo...

Appealing a California Criminal Conviction Sometimes we are faced with a criminal conviction that we know nothing about. Some of the criminal convictions we face are due to reasons that could have been previously avoided. This makes one despair on the hearing of the punishment to be faced. Howeve...

He Who Represents Himself has a Fool for a Client A Faretta motion is a legal file prepared by the criminal defendant in association with the court to allow them to represent themselves during the criminal proceeding. This should be done in time to get the full request. The motion got its name fr...